When Sirius Intervenes
by Harmonious Cannons
Summary: To everyone else, Sirius Black was a criminal, mad-man and/or the right hand of Voldemort. To Harry, he was the loving parent who did whatever it took, damn the consequences. And Sirius didn't care what anyone else thought anyway. A series of Sirius helps Harry one-shots. Mostly Dark! or Insane!Sirius. ALWAYS IN PROGRESS. Adopt if you wish to for full-length stories. Just tell us.
1. Chapter 1

**Mudblood**

Harry was recounting the stilted conversation over dinner, as he lay listening to Ron's beam-vibrating snores in their shared bedroom. While there was little expectation of being told anything, he found the most irksome thing to be the continual shudders and expressions of fear whenever the name 'Voldemort' was uttered. They listened to everything Dumbledore said. Why not this as well? But no! Everyone seemed to be competing with each other as far as the extent of the display of their fear went.

Sirius said the name. Lupin did too. Bill did as well. The first two were likely to have faced Voldemort before, but Bill wasn't. Yet he wasn't stupidly scared into following the learned response that the rest of those who were kids at the time used. And of their generation, Sirius and Lupin seemed to be aberrations.

The question plagued him a lot. And in the entire house, the only one who seemed willing to give him any information at all was Sirius, yet he was muzzled by his new jailers. Well, so long as it was in private, nobody else had any fucking business as far as what he asked him, and what Sirius told him.

Decision made, Harry wasted no time at all.

Sirius was sleeping like the dead in his room. He was not too pleased to be woken, but seeing Harry's confused frown, he woke up to see what his pup wanted.

"Padfoot?" asked Harry without preamble. "Why is everyone so afraid of the name? Only you and Lupin say it at all."

"You woke me up for this?" grumbled Sirius, before blinking blearily and opening his eyes wider. "Oh, well, last time around, he had put up something called the Taboo. Anytime his name was said, Death Eater squads would appear."

"Even if someone said something like "Long Live Lord Voldemort or something?"" asked Harry quickly.

"No. They were not all marked, but the intention was supporting Voldemort wasn't it?"

"So, how do you and Lupin say it?"

"Well," Sirius started, fearing this part. "We used to trap them and kill most of the Death Eaters. It stuck, sort of."

"That's brilliant!" Harry replied.

This was certainly not what Sirius had expected in response.

"How is that brilliant?"

"Tell me, what else can the Taboo do? How does it work?"

"It is attached to a runic scheme see? And it has to be widespread. The Taboo was just a warning and locating spell, kind of. It told the controllers that the word was said and where. And there had to be some sort of intent thing to, as I told."

"So can one tie, I don't know, switching spells or something to it?"

"In theory, yes, one could. However, it would take severe power. You know, depending on what was being switched, the mass of it and what it was being switched with and everything."

"Did it work through anti-portkey spells?"

"Yes."

"And can Portkeys be made with the co-ordinates one could get from the Taboo?"

"Yes."

"Can a Rune stone be used to perform any spell without the wand?"

"Yes."

"Can a Rune stone required to perform one specific task be turned into a portkey?"

"No."

"Can it have something like a Portkey attached to it physically?"

"Yes."

"Can it have two functions? Suppose there is self-destruction function with it? Does it need to come into contact with the thing being switched?"

"Yes. The maximum per stone is three. It needs reasonable contact. You know bones can be transplanted if the stone is touched to the body part where the new bone is to be transplanted. It is better than Skele-Grow for adults."

Harry's frown had long since turned into a grin. Sirius looked at his godson, and for a moment was going to order James to tell him what the prank was, before he caught himself. Or maybe he had to stop himself from begging Lily to not hurt him or whoever else had just angered her.

"Harry?"

"How long does it take to set the Taboo up?"

"I don't know. I've never done it."

"Do you know how?"

"It is powerful magic because of its effects. Plus it has the ability to be used for dark purposes. Of course it would be available in the Black library."

"If I asked you, could you do it?"

"Depends," Sirius temporised. "I need to know what to do with it."

"Well, let's just say that somebody uses the M-word."

"And...?"

"And this someone, dependent on the intent, gets hit by a Rune Stone that..."

Harry described his idea, and Sirius blanched, then laughed. Strictly speaking, this was the sort of thing he would have done, if he had just thought of it.

"So for how long will it stay that way?"

"One minute?" pondered Harry.

"You think they would take the hint in a minute?"

"Well, too long and it would give the game away."

"That's right," Sirius agreed. "I think we can still do it for ninety seconds."

"Alright," agreed Harry.

"We will start working on it in the morning," Sirius promised.

* * *

Four days later, the scheme was ready.

"It's a pity we can't test it on anyone."

"Kreacher, maybe?" asked Sirius.

"No."

"Alright," allowed Padfoot with a sigh. "We will just wait and watch. It will happen anyway."

So the two powered the scheme and activated it.

Barely seconds later, they had to run out of the room as the location and warning scheme started pinging repeatedly, at more than ten per minute. They had tested that before, of course, so they knew it worked. So this was a test for the about two thousand people they knew would use the word with that intent. The two thousand premade stones and the associated Portkeys flew off their holders like hot cakes.

The two madmen grinned in unison. Two hours later, they were opening the next consignment of two thousand stones and portkeys.

* * *

The next morning, the shrill scream of Molly Weasley woke the whole house. She was standing over the body of Kreacher. It was bulging and was oozing a thick brown liquid from every orifice.

Kreacher was _**bleeding mud.**_

It was brutal.

The Daily Prophet never came that day. Nor the next or on the days after it, for some months.

It was Kingsley Shacklebolt who was the bearer of news.

"The world, as we knew it and wanted to arrest, is dead."

Nobody saw the looks of horror on the two faces, as he described what had happened in each case, including the descriptions of the dead bodies of several people of all ages including Voldemort.

Nobody could find out why Sirius Black and Harry Potter never spoke again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Dust, Dust...**

 ** _Dust, dust_**

 ** _On the twelfth of August,_**

 ** _Dust, became the Wizengamot!_**

 ** _I see no reason_**

 ** _Why the fall of the Wizen_**

 ** _Should ever be forgot._**

"Stop pacing, Padfoot!" Remus reprimanded sharply.

Ever since the news of the attack on Harry had filtered in, Sirius had been worrying himself sick. Nobody could get through to him in any manner, and his capability for rational thought was suspect, if his near-attack on Dumbledore, "to fuck the bloody blood protections and get Harry the fucking hell out of that godforsaken dump!" was any indication.

It rankled that he was once more a prisoner, just as his godson had been and still was for the best part of the previous fourteen years.

"I am trying to think of a way to get Harry out of this!"

"What are you going to do?" Remus asked scornfully. "You'd be kissed as soon as you step out of this place."

"I wouldn't be if that goat-shagging bastard of a Headmaster had given me a trial like he gave Severus "He is no more a Death Eater than I am" Snape! I have half a mind to throw every one of you out and get Harry here and put everything under lockdown. Your Order bullshit does nothing except imprisoning us!"

Remus knew better than to be hurt by what Padfoot said. That didn't mean he was not worried about Sirius' course of action regarding the Order. Sirius hated it. He had set up the logic that if James and Lily weren't part of the Order, they wouldn't have been killed. And he had become increasingly abrasive towards everyone in the house, and they couldn't complain since it was his.

"And what will that achieve?"

"Well, unlike your patrols, I will be able to actually ensure that Harry is safe and loved," Sirius spat back. "I know what happens in that House. It's just like what happened here to me. You all must be getting your jollies seeing that bastard family hurting Harry, no?" he sneered.

It was only with all his control that Remus stopped himself from decking Sirius.

"Get yourself free then. You know as well as I do that only when half the Wizengamot is dead will your trial plea even be heard."

Sirius froze mid-step. And Remus froze barely a moment later as he realised just what he had said to possibly the most volatile yet stubborn wizard, if not the most volatile yet stubborn person, in England. Voldemort would be easier to deal with than Sirius once the mutt got an idea into his head.

"No, Padfoot!" Remus warned. "You are not going to do that!"

"Do what Moony?" asked Sirius innocently.

"You do realise what that would mean, don't you?" Remus asked exasperatedly. He didn't even dignify Sirius' attempts at portraying innocence with a mention, let alone a reply.

"Mean what?"

"Sirius, please," scolded Remus tersely. "I am not stupid."

Sirius huffed. "Alright, then; I know what it would mean."

"What?" Remus condescendingly asked.

"We would destroy half of Voldemort's support, destroy the corrupt Ministry, make our own correct laws, give the Aurors lots of ammunition to go after the rest of the Death Eaters, and actually do something that would harm Voldemort's power. Oh, and we can take over the Ministry. Did I say that before? Oh, and we could save the lives of many **_innocent_** people."

And, just like that, Remus Lupin was once again roped into Sirius Black's plans.

"And what of people like Augusta Longbottom or Bones for that matter?"

"We stun them, or drug them."

"And who are these 'we'?"

That brought Sirius' nebulous plans to a halt. "I thought you'd help me!"

"Two people, Sirius, can't do much."

"Oh."

Remus sat there calmly, waiting for Sirius to come up with something, half-expecting Sirius to ask Prongs to do something. He got no response or stimulus for three hours. He had a nice nap in the interim.

Sirius on the other hand had gone around the house asking for Hermione and Ron. He didn't particularly care for the latter – he had abandoned Harry, though the boy had been forgiven.

"Who would help him and could help Harry cast magic without triggering the Trace?"

In spite of her SPEW crusade, there was one answer Hermione could come up with – Dobby.

* * *

"So you understand what you have to do?"

"Yes. Dobby understands. Dobby must cause everyone but bad Master's friends and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's followers inside the Hall and take them away to the side before they sit on their seats. And then he has to bring all of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's followers still in the building inside the Wizengamot."

"Yes. Thanks Dobby. If this works, Harry will be free in many more ways than one."

"Dobby is happy to help The Great Master Harry Potter's Dogfather."

The little critter popped away. He had promised to secure help.

* * *

11th August 1995

Padfoot the dog chased a car travelling through London's streets late at night after a job particularly well done. The charges were placed under each seat. The rogue elves Dobby had asked for help had reinforced the walls of the Wizengamot. Tomorrow would be the day. They would rue the day they thought of going after Sirius Black's godson. And Moony had brought them one more gift. Poor man had wanted to help, but he wasn't Remus that night, a full moon.

* * *

12th August 1995

Cornelius Fudge looked at the brat smiling up at him insolently. It was ten. There was no Amelia, no Augusta, no Tiberius Ogden... In fact none of those that would have voted for Potter were in the Hall. He could almost smell victory and taste it. He didn't realise that Percy Weatherby wasn't there either.

He didn't even question why Lucius had come in and looked scared. All he saw was the destruction of this threat to his regime, his rule, his power.

When the doors were finally closed, Potter stood up, still smiling.

"What are you doing, boy?" Cornelius snarled. He wouldn't mind asking an Auror or two to stun him and pass a summary judgement. He had a sudden feeling that something was off with the boy and couldn't shake it off.

"I have a gift for you, Minister," the boy said, still grinning insanely while reaching into his pocket. He drew out a pipe with a fist handle. It was oddly shaped. Cornelius thought that he should know this thing from somewhere. It was also his last thought.

The hall sat in shocked silence as the boy cried, "Long live the revolution!" and shot Cornelius thrice. The deafening bangs were enough to shock and stun everyone.

Cornelius' eyes widened in shock in his last moments as he realised what had happened. Dolores had not even moved before the boy called, "Dobby!"

The elf duly came. If there was ever an expression that none of the bigots sitting in the room had seen, it was that expression of vicious hatred mingled with triumph. The boy drew a box and pressed the big red rune on top of it, Dawlish, the closest Auror could see.

When such things happen, time seems to slow down. In fact, however, only fifteen seconds had elapsed. And those were the last fifteen seconds of the lives of the Death Eaters in the building, as the charges blew apart.

It was a glorious day as the boy's insane laughter, so curiously like the barks of a dog, rose in symphony with the screams of the dying and the sounds of the blasts. Now there was just the question of a man's freedom left to be resolved. There wasn't anyone left to question him.

* * *

Back at Grimmauld Place, Molly was fussing over Harry. He had a horrible fever. She tried hiding her frown as he kept asking where Sirius was. They were worried because Dumbledore, who had gone to the Ministry to request them to arrange another trial date, had not returned yet. They were willing to concede most of the Ministry's demands on the matter. Harry's education had to be protected.

It was in that situation that Dumbledore appeared at Grimmauld Place, shaking and completely pale.

He sat down in the hall, where Harry lay on the couch. Seeing his state, he was handed a glass of firewhiskey instead of tea.

"Dumbledore?" asked Molly after an appropriate amount of time. "What happened?"

Harry was sure it was the delirium of his fever when Dumbledore shakily replied, "Sirius has captured the Ministry."


	3. Chapter 3

**Halloween**

A/N: We know that Sirius was not the first to arrive at Godric's Hollow that night in 1981. What if Sirius did arrive later but just a little later than the first? As " ** _Always_** " it is everyone's favourite mutt who changes everything as he does what he has been tasked to do.

* * *

Sirius was never the person who truly believed in divination, premonitions or such. It was a bunch of dodgy things that the people who claimed they could see into the future interpreted according their knowledge of things, their experiences and their beliefs. So, even after helping James, Lily and Harry go into hiding to protect them from a Prophecy, he had not truly believed it. To be entirely correct, he didn't want to believe it. As enticing as the prospect of a prophesised saviour seemed, he would never want that curse to be on any child. The way he saw it, it was only an invitation for their failing society to do nothing and leave everything on the shoulders of a child. A child which could very well be his, Sirius' godson, a child he couldn't love more if it would be his own.

And Sirius shuddered.

He didn't set much in store by divination. But intuition, the sixth sense that everyone had, but few listened to, was another thing altogether. He felt a cold shiver of dread run up his spine and he shot out of his flat, appearing right outside Peter Pettigrew's cottage outside Birmingham. It was empty. There was no sign of a forced entry, no sign of struggle. More importantly, the wards were down.

He knew what had happened. His legs almost gave out from underneath him as he saw the destruction of the house that once housed the people he called family. Almost as if he was an automaton, he ran in, blank to the outside world.

And then he saw James' body. His best friend, his brother really, was dead. His glasses askew, James lay broken by the stairs as his face held a plethora of emotions as he died.

Sirius staggered towards a wall for support and almost gave into the urge to cry. He had not cried since he had been cursed and thrown out by his biological family till that night when Charlus and Dorea, James' parents, and his own as well in a way, had been murdered. And then he had never cried again. It was difficult to contain his grief now.

He was alone. He was truly alone in the world. He no longer had a family to call his own. They were all dead.

And just as his back touched the wall, he heard some sounds. There was the cry – the cry of a little voice he loved so much. Harry!

Harry was alive. The very idea stunned Sirius for a moment. And then it galvanised him into action.

He flew up the stairs as Padfoot, a creature that made little to no noise. If Harry was still alive it meant Voldemort had to be there. He was not to late yet. If nothing else, Sirius was going to kill Voldemort or die trying.

The dog screeched to a halt at what he saw in the nursery.

Lily was fallen by the crib in which Harry sat crying. She was dead. And right in front of her were the black robes that Voldemort favoured. And the fiend wasn't there. His clothes were. Was he gone? Harry was alive, so it certainly seemed so. Where then was the body? Sirius almost swore as his mind, now working faster than usual arrived to the correct conclusion. The Prophecy was in motion or was completed. He also almost missed the other person in the room. Leaning by Lily was Severus Snape.

Sirius was, for all his better qualities, a man prone to rash anger. He had, however long since surpassed that stage. He had already made some connections. And now, as he saw another Death Eater, he realised that Peter had given all the Death Eaters the secret. How else could Snape have been here?

And that meant that the monster was here to complete his Master's job. He was going to try and kill Harry. And Sirius would be damned if he let that happen.

One swish of his wand sent the odious man hurtling into the wall in front of him, badly hurt. Severus Snape could only watch in fear as Sirius Black advanced upon him.

"Here to murder my godson, were you?" Sirius spat. "Well, I swore to protect him. Percutio!" he shouted. The anger only left him after he cast the piercing hex several times, thoroughly ending the life of the fallen man. Holes in one's brain, heart and lungs tend to do that.

It was a moment that changed lives upon lives and the future of the magical world as they would know it. A story of what could have been lingered before it withered away, replaced by a tale that should have always been.

"Pafoo!" bawled Harry, teary-eyed. The baby automatically raised his arms towards his godfather.

It was only then that Sirius gave in.

Gathering the child in his arms, Sirius crashed to the floor, as his tears flowed unfettered. The two cried as Sirius rocked Harry gently, dropping a kiss on his head. What was he to do now?

It was a good five minutes before he could collect himself to be able to think again. Harry's cries had reduced to sniffles.

Sirius knew he had to plan. He had to kill Wormtail first. But then where would he keep Harry? Now that he already knew that there were Death Eaters around who knew that Voldemort intended to kill the Potters, and who like Snape, knew the secret, he could not trust his godson – son now – with anyone but himself. That cleared his head once again. Harry's safety was the priority.

And then he froze. Everyone **_knew_** that he was the secret-keeper, the traitor. Once they knew that James and Lily were dead, they would come after him and take Harry away. That wouldn't do. He had to find a way to prove his innocence and to keep Harry. He needed someone he could trust.

They had to get away from here first. But first, he had to ensure that nobody stole the Potters' things. With Harry on his hip, Sirius systematically cleared the house and fit it into one room. He then locked and sealed it so that only he could open it.

His first thought was to go to Moony. God, they should have trusted him. But he couldn't. Not yet, Sirius couldn't.

There were three names Sirius knew to trust at this juncture. One of them was Alastor Moody. The other was Amelia Bones. And the third was Frank Longbottom. Unfortunately, like Dumbledore, Frank was most likely to hex him first. So was Moody, but then Moody was likely to do that to everyone.

"I'll take my chances with him, then," he decided grimly.

Sirius appeared right outside Mad-Eye's wards and walked right in. He had had the good sense to wear a double-leaved metal body shield that was much larger than he was. Harry had already started crying due to his first experience with the perennial discomfort of Apparition, and the sound was enough to send Alastor into a frenzied paranoia overdrive.

Holding Harry close to him, Sirius squatted slightly, pulling his head within the shield, like a tortoise.

Once the spell-fire ceased, he poked his head out and fired a blasting curse. "Stop, you idiot. Prove you are Alastor Moody."

"Black?" asked Moody uncertainly. "Is that a baby?"

"Piss off. Prove you are Mad-Eye. Then we will talk."

Mad-Eye was feeling slightly irritated and slightly proud as his ex-student refused to budge an inch. He made a small cut on his palm and yanked his wooden leg off before touching one Rune. It promptly turned into a muggle rifle. "That works for you?"

"Yes. Now I am going to conjure a small table, keep the baby on it and then prove that I am me."

A small bark as Padfoot proved to Mad-Eye that it was Sirius. That was enough for the scarred man to walk towards Sirius Black, still holding his wand and pointing it at the man. He almost stumbled in shock when he saw the baby.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"He attacked tonight. Pettigrew was the Secret-Keeper. We thought it would help mislead everyone. Pettigrew gave the secret to other Death Eaters also. One Death Eater, Snape was still in the room. I killed him."

"Prove it!"

"I will make an Unbreakable Vow if you get me a witness."

That was enough for Moody. Unbreakable Vows were not lightly made. This didn't mean he wouldn't have it, just that he could provisionally trust the man.

"There is more. He is gone."

"What?"

"I found his robes, some sort of ornament with Gryffindor's emblem on it and a lot of other things. As I told you, the Death Eaters were around. I locked everything in one room so that only I can open it." He then finally begged. "Please Mad-Eye. Help me protect Harry and catch Pettigrew."

"I still can't trust you till you give that Vow."

"I know. That's why I came to you. Do whatever you need to. You know as well as I do that Bagnold is taking money from the Death Eaters. I want you to make a show of things and arrange a public trial for me, with Veritaserum. Get Bones on it. I want everyone to know my innocence, as well as the fact that in spite of James and me having reported about the many pure-bloods going around killing people, our reports were suppressed. They will kill Harry, Mad-Eye. I can't protect him alone!" Then he paused and practically shouted, "Get the Longbottoms here first. Their son is in danger as well. Let them witness my Vow."

With that, Mad-Eye knew that Black had told him everything he knew. Everything that the boy had done was the best he could have done in the situation. He had been vigilant, he had prioritised and he had eliminated the threat he had seen and asked for help before he ran into more. "That will do Black. You weren't a bad student after all."

Sirius knew he had won that battle then and there.

* * *

Hagrid came to an empty house. There were the dead bodies of James and Lily neatly laid out. He choked a sob. They were some of the best people he knew. He went to the nursery and saw the carnage and the other dead body.

And there was no Harry. Hagrid panicked.

Only Black knew where the place was. And he had taken the boy. He had to get Dumbledore.

* * *

"What's the problem Mad-Eye?" asked Alice as soon as he arrived at Mad-Eye's house with her husband and son in tow. She was not best pleased to be woken in the middle of the night and made to go through Mad-Eye's weird identity discernment rituals.

"I called you here," Sirius said as he stepped up beside them, still holding onto Harry. He had let Harry away from him only long enough to prove his identity to Mad-Eye, twice.

"What has happened?"

"We had set Pettigrew as the Secret-Keeper while letting everyone think I was the one. He is a Death Eater. James and Lily are dead. It seems **_he_** is gone, but his Death Eaters are still around. One was still there in the house – Snape. I killed him. Lily made you Harry's godmother. I want you to witness my Unbreakable Vow to Mad-Eye to prove that I didn't betray them, and this way you remain safe as well."

Alice felt great sorrow, great anger, great terror, and great pity for the bedraggled man in front of her. He was willing to put everything he was on the line for the truth, and she knew she had to give him that chance.

Mad-Eye was the one to receive the Vow to state that Sirius was never a Death Eater and would never be; that he was never the Potters' Secret-Keeper and that Peter Pettigrew, a rat animagus, was, in fact the Secret-Keeper; that he was Harry's godfather, and that he and James had given several reports regarding the various pure-bloods they knew to be Death Eaters.

That was enough to go by for the moment.

Sirius then found himself being hugged by Frank and Alice in turn. They were all friends, and they were grieving. At the same time, the Longbottoms were also very glad that they had gotten away from their secret home. The Fidelius had not proved to be unbreakable. They were safer together than apart.

"Has anyone told Dumbledore?" asked Alice out of the blue.

The stupefied looks on Sirius' and Mad-Eye's faces were proof enough.

"It's okay. I will floo to Hogwarts immediately," Frank offered.

"Why don't you call Dumbledore here then?" asked Sirius.

"That seems right," grunted Mad-Eye.

When Dumbledore came over barely a minute later, he saw Sirius and raised his wand to curse the traitor.

"NO!" cried Sirius as he immediately turned around and clutched Harry to his chest, thus shielding the baby from Dumbledore.

"Expelliarmus!" cried Mad-Eye as he disarmed the Leader of the Order.

A third very big event occurred. The Wand of Destiny changed hands. With Mad-Eye as the owner though, every wand was the Deathstick. And Dumbledore, knowing that knowledge is power, and relieved at being relieved of that wand, didn't even twitch his face.

"How dare you, you bastard? Cursing a child?" he snarled.

"Black..."

"Is the Potter boy's godfather, has sworn an Unbreakable Vow that he was not the Secret-Keeper and that Pettigrew was the traitor. Alice has witnessed it!"

"He did? He gave an Unbreakable Vow?"

"Yes, you idiot!" scolded Mad-Eye.

"I apologise Sirius. I sent Hagrid with the note you gave me to retrieve Harry. You know as a half-giant he is protected from most curses and..."

"Yes. I know. But there were Death Eaters around, and since I'd already killed one tonight, I thought it best to come to Mad-Eye."

"You killed? Whom did you kill?"

"Snape!" snarled Sirius.

"My dear boy, what have you done? He was my spy!"

"Did you give him the note? You idiot! You might as well have murdered James and Lily! It might not even be Peter!"

A hex flew from Sirius' wand in righteous fury, painfully removing all the hair from Dumbledore's body by plucking, turning him into one huge boil. Dumbledore could do nothing but moan in pain for a few minutes.

"Can't say I blame you Black," commended Moody, as he looked over his protégé's work. "Got him well, you did. Never thought I'd see the depilatory charm used without finesse enough to make it a curse," he said with an amused snort.

"Of course I didn't! He was Lily's friend. He wanted a moment to say goodbye, you idiot."

"Well, I assumed he was a Death Eater." Then something sparked in his mind. "Why then was he glaring and pointing his wand at Harry?" It was a bluff, and he wanted to see how far Dumbledore had fallen.

"He would never. He loved Lily! He would protect her child!"

"You stupid, stupid man," snarled Sirius. "Snivellus no more loved Lily than he hated his own dick. She was just an object to him, an object of his desire. That was all he was and would ever be, a stinking shit of a Death Eater, eventually hating you, hating James and Harry, and self-justifying that it was right that James died so that he could get her. He hated everything because Lily chose the better man and he willingly joined those who would hunt and destroy her life and dignity. Shut up fool. Don't think that you know about love. You will only embarrass yourself."

"What spying did he do for you, Dumbledore?" asked Alice. She had no love for Severus and Sirius' diatribe, though undoubtedly biased against Snape, was nonetheless true.

"He told me that Voldemort knew the Prophecy." The absence of the pops around them at the uttered name told them that the Taboo had fallen.

"How dare you threaten the safety of children?" shrieked Alice as she landed a kick to Dumbledore's ribs.

It caused the old man pain.

"And who told him the Prophecy?" Frank demanded.

Dumbledore remained silent for a moment. "My dear boy, you must understand..."

"Who told him the Prophecy Albus?" Alastor demanded, now pointing the Elder Wand at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore wouldn't answer.

"It was Snivellus, wasn't it? Snivellus painted that target on the backs of my godson and Neville, didn't he? And you protected him." The accusatory tone was there for all to hear. Sirius was judging Dumbledore.

"He betrayed Tom when Tom decided to kill the Potters. He betrayed Tom for Lily."

"He wanted Lily as his plaything you mean," corrected Sirius. "And what about the Longbottoms, then? Do they not rate a mention?"

There was nothing Dumbledore could say to that.

"Harry won't come to Hogwarts till you are Headmaster, or even at Hogwarts," Sirius declared. "You are just as bad as Tom was, is, whatever. I am sorry that I ever trusted you."

"Neville will not either," Frank declared.

"Harry? What are you talking about?" Dumbledore asked, not even giving a second thought about Neville. "He has to live with Petunia. It has to do with blood..."

"You will not make that decision."

"Sirius my boy..."

"I AM NOT YOUR BOY! I HAD PARENTS AND A FAMILY! DON'T THINK OF SUPPLANTING THEM YOU DISGUSTING BASTARD!" Sirius' voice woke the two children violently and they started crying. Alice and Frank quickly hushed them, placing a sleeping spell on each and an Imperturbable charm to prevent them from being disturbed by the sound of the impending fight. "And Harry will never go to that magic-hating bitch who wished that her "Freak Sister never bred." Do you understand? They are not Harry's family."

"Sirius, be reasonable. The Death Eaters are still around..."

"And as the last living Black once I eliminate Regulus, I will own the Ministry and have every last one of them kissed."

"Sirius! That is the path of Darkness. You must have mercy."

The words stunned everyone for but a moment. Then Mad-Eye stunned Dumbledore. He turned to his protégé. "Do what you need to," he commanded. "You know what to do. Do it."

Sirius nodded. He turned to the Longbottoms. "I can't take Harry where I must go..."

"I am his godmother, Sirius. You don't have to ask."

"I am coming with you. Two sets of eyes are better than one. Mad-Eye, please. Our children..."

"I will move nowhere lad."

"Thanks Mad-Eye."

"Frank, you will wait far away enough to not see me do things. And then you are going to modify my memories. I want that trial under Veritaserum, so as to destroy Bagnold."

The Longbottom had long since left behind any wish to abide by the rules. He knew what Sirius intended to do, and if not for the fact that he had never learnt the spell, he would be helping Sirius do it.

"I will ask no questions. I can be honest within the limits."

They exchanged a grim look of camaraderie.

That night, the Houses of Nott, Lestrange, Runcorn, Travers, Avery, Parkinson, Greengrass, Davis, Selwyn and Flint burnt with Fiendfyre. It was murder. And there were children within in some places which were killed. And somehow, Sirius, on his vengeful streak, did not care. He was brought up among them. He knew their ways even if he had never used them before. To a man long descended into grief, and hatred, it was only poetic justice that they reap what they sowed.

He still kept the Malfoys alive. He would use them to bring down the government. He would own it. For Harry, he would do anything that was asked of him, no matter the cost to him.

* * *

The world celebrated outside. In the house of Alastor Moody, two terrified parents clutched their child as they worried about what could have been. One man held his godson as he grieved, yet felt not a shred of remorse. And one man stood guard over another stunned and bound figure.

When Dumbledore was finally revived, he tried to breach the subject again, but was silenced and bound.

"Albus, I am no longer a part of your group of sycophants, you liberalist terrorists, your non-violent Death Eaters," Sirius spat. "You will destroy our world as surely as they do."

"And we will rather follow Sirius than you, considering the degree to which you betrayed us, Dumbledore," Frank added.

"Your group is illegal, Dumbledore."

"And what price will you pay for this, Sirius? Is it worth your soul?"

"This is for **_my_** child, you idiot. This is worth the entire world to me."

"I will have to oppose this."

"Dumbledore, if you try to stop me, I will exert every last ounce of the influence of the House of Black and Potter, have you tried in absentia for treason and then have you thrown through the Veil. I will bribe their lives out from under them if I have to. I will destroy every last Death Eater. There won't be one of those beasts around after I am done. Don't. Try. To Stop. Me. My family will be my priority. Always."

"Do you think you can stop me from escaping?"

"I am not below firing a killing curse at a Phoenix. You can't escape for at least a month, if I know right."

"I am afraid that you are lost to the Darkness, Sirius."

"Excellent inference. You could have stopped that if you had helped kill the Death Eaters and removed **_his_** power base. Your failure has shaped me, Dumbledore. I lost my family. And now I will make them lose theirs."

"Sirius," Dumbledore attempted one more time in an imploring voice.

And Sirius had enough. He apparated to the Apothecary in Knockturn Alley that was known to a select few people, and stole enough of the Draught of Living Death to last a month.

"I am not at all sorry about this Dumbledore." His wand pointed at the old man, Sirius' expression turned contemplative. "Obliviate!" he cast. And then, in went the first dose of the Draught.

* * *

The trial with loads and loads of arranged evidence ended with the ruling of summary execution for anyone and everyone found with the Dark Mark. Sirius had decided to own the government. And own it he did. Four hundred and thirty-seven people, irrespective of age, including Peter Pettigrew, and the thirteen more from the Ministry, including the Minister were executed for treason.

And yet it wouldn't bring James and Lily back. It wouldn't bring Regulus back either. The young fool had done the good thing in the end.

The locket in Grimmauld Place was turned into a detector, which detected the scar first. Another gold chain from the Black family's vault was used to transfer the hideousness from the scar and then was tossed through the Veil.

Sirius had not felt too bad about sinking the entire Lestrange wealth into the project, particularly since the Unspeakables were being very cooperative after Rookwood's execution. That had also yielded the Cup of Hufflepuff.

Remus was very proud of his friend. He had been helping his friend since after the trial as they managed the several accounts left to them through convoluted inheritances. Amusingly, several came from people whom Sirius had killed.

"You did everything they could have asked of you and more, Padfoot. You have to be the best godfather there is. You have protected Harry to the best of your abilities."

"Doesn't take away the fact that I could have prevented their deaths, does it?"

"So could have Dumbledore. He helped them along, practically, didn't he?"

Albus Dumbledore had woken up to a thoroughly destroyed pure-blood faction nearly a month later. No amount of protestations for mercy helped. Sirius had gotten his word and his rhetoric in first, and into the minds of the people. And people had had four weeks to internalise and accept Sirius' statements that the Death Eaters were magic's traitors since they killed magicals and that they were the true blood-traitors since they had killed more pure-bloods than those of non-magical descent.

It turned public opinion against Albus Dumbledore, turning him into a figure of scorn.

Voldemort still lived. Dumbledore still sought to mould the world in his vision. But it was Sirius who owned it. And, given the way justice was actually dispensed and the back of the murderous faction was thoroughly broken, it was a much better place to be in December 1981 than it was in October 1981.

The future was brighter.

All wasn't well. It would be.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Dark Lord's Equal (Don't Read This!)**

 ** _"_** ** _Your winnings," he said shortly, taking a large bag of gold out of his pocket and dropping it onto Harry's bedside table. "One thousand Galleons. There should have been a presentation ceremony, but under the circumstances…"_**

 ** _He crammed his bowler hat onto his head_** and started towards the door. It was a mistake that he had turned his back on a person who had had enough, who had had his innocence long taken away and who was at the end of his tether.

Shaking under the recurrent pain of the Cruciatus still lighting up his nervous system, Harry shakily stood up, silencing Mrs. Weasley who was about to protest with a glare, and grabbed his wand. Fudge had barely reached the door when he crumpled down as two bolts of magic shattered his kneecaps. It had happened so quickly, that nobody had been able to react, and now the only reaction they could show was the shock. Harry had attacked the Minister of Magic.

He ignored the gasps of shock and several cries of the general meaning, "HARRY! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" coming from those around him as he slowly made his way towards the fallen man, holding the beds along the aisle gingerly for support. Fudge was screaming, but the newly silenced room (after the fight between McGonagall and Fudge had woken Harry) ensured that nobody outside the room knew. He finally reached Fudge, standing – looming – over him, pointing his wand in his shaky hand at the man.

"I always wondered," the boy said dispassionately, in a sore, rough, dry voice. "I have kept wondering why our world was so disgusting, why so willing to accept murderers. I was told the answer, you know, but given the source it came from, I was unwilling to accept the answer." He was answered with a string of expletives and more screaming. Dumbledore had had to sit down at the sudden outburst of violence and none of the others knew what to say or do in that moment as this was not the Harry they knew. "Sirius," he called out to his godfather, and the only person he trusted to help him at that moment. "Please, stabilise this vermin long enough for me to speak to him and convince him. And please accept my apologies for stopping you last year in the Shack."

He then added to the room at large, sparing only Dumbledore and Snape, "Please understand that what I am going to do is for the...Greater Good. It is a matter of plausible deniability." He started stunning all its occupants.

Sirius had known from the moment that Harry attacked Fudge that he was not dealing with his godson, but an angry man – a young man, but a man, nonetheless. He knew not to patronise him. Harry had had an experience that would change anyone. To hell with it, he had several experiences that would change anyone, and it seemed that the pup had finally had enough. Still, it was his duty and responsibility to ensure that whatever decision Harry took did not come back to hurt him. That was his job as the godfather. Bounding to the pair, he transformed in one fluid motion with his wand drawn, eliciting shrieks and silencing hushes from the others. He paid them no mind.

"Are you sure?" he asked Harry, with no hint of reproach or of condescension in his voice. Harry had killed before and fought before. He had fought far too much for Sirius' peace of mind, but there was nothing he could do to change that.

Harry surveyed his godfather with narrowed eyes before he saw the intent behind the man's question.

 _Are you sure that you want to take this action? Are you ready for the consequences, for this won't be the last time, if you start now? Are you ready for everything that this entails? Be so. You shall have my support come what may._

Harry allowed himself a small smile which with his hurting muscles turned into a small grimace. He knew whom to always trust. "Yes."

"Alright," Sirius replied. He turned to the rest of the room and then addressed Dumbledore first. "We tried it your way. You know and we know that this is going to fail. He is an ostrich with his head buried in the sand and we will have to yank it out. Please, don't interrupt. I don't want Harry to do this, in honesty, but he is old enough – older than I am by his experiences. I trust him. Don't hinder us."

He then proceeded to cast numbing charms on the Minister's body. Heavens knew he was proficient at the charm, given the number of times he had cast it on Moony. His next action was to shake his head at the man's stupidity as he threatened his godson.

"I will have you arrested boy!" the minister spat, growling.

"I did not give you leave to speak," Harry replied coldly. "You will shut up and you will listen. The spell I cast was **_not_** poorly aimed."

That last sentence gave everyone pause for thought. An in pain, shaking, traumatised boy had the ability to do that. It would be stupid to get on his wrong side, at least unless he was not in a position of power.

"In my second year, I saw you make a non-judicial arrest. Hagrid was so obviously innocent, and yet, yet you connived with the child-murdering bastard Lucius Malfoy who set the monster upon the school, to arrest the poor man, because "you had to be seen doing something." Am I wrong?"

"YOUR ARE LYING!" snarled Fudge. He lost his numbing charm courtesy Sirius and then his ankle courtesy Harry, screaming harder and harder and in such pain that even Snape shied away.

Five minutes later, the charm was reapplied, and Fudge's anger was at least slightly clouded by pain and slight fear.

"Let us try this again. Was I wrong?"

"Lucius would never..." was all the defence Fudge could muster before the numbing charm came off. The screams started again.

Sirius waited for another two minutes before he soothed Fudge.

"Lucius Malfoy is a murderer. Let us move on from there. I will also give you a fair warning that my patience is running out." He had a lot to learn. Intimidating someone was really fun. "Last year you refused to hear us out, calling us liars when we told you that Sirius was innocent. I didn't understand why. Fun fact: I am not stupid, and therefore, I know, **_now_** , that the Lestranges, a set of Death Eaters, the Malfoys, another set of Death Eaters, are also the closest living relatives of Sirius, the only non-Death Eater Black male, and of mine as well. And yet, if the Lestranges hadn't been caught red-handed, they would have been free while Sirius wouldn't have been. We both can see where this leads, don't we?"

"You are delusional, boy!"

Fudge lost his entire right hand right from the shoulder, whereupon it was promptly burnt to ashes. This time, the shock was severe. Every person apart from Sirius cried out in shock and to stop the boy, but things had gone too far already to stop. Indeed, when Dumbledore raised his wand begging Harry to stop, he was carelessly disarmed, even as Sirius once more cauterised the wound. The Black then, slightly gleefully, silenced and petrified Snape to prevent him from intruding.

"Don't hinder me, Dumbledore. I am done with your kind. I am done with your brand of false justice. These sheep do not deserve either peace or independence." He refrained from tossing the surprisingly and comfortably warm wand back at the Headmaster. "Your time has passed, marked by failure." He turned back to the Minister. "Are we in agreement now that you have helped the Death Eaters, Fudge?"

Cornelius knew that he was truly at the mercy of the boy. He would no longer bow to the power of positions. He wouldn't even bow to Dumbledore.

"This time, you have seen a Death Eater that was supposed to be dead. You have seen the dead body of Cedric Diggory. You have seen me suffering from the effects of the Cruciatus. You are not trying to imply they were all my plants, or my plans, were you?"

For a moment, Fudge looked as if it was a great idea. Then he saw the blasted boy pointing his wand at his legs and fearfully shook his head.

"Good. This means that you have some survival instincts. So you will accept my conditions. There shall be no delay."

Fudge looked like he was about to piss himself – again.

"You will arrest, and have executed any person that is marked by the Death Eaters and moves. You will conduct an open trial for them and for Sirius here. They **_will_** be found guilty. Sirius **_will_** be found innocent. The Death Eaters will be publicly executed. Am I in any manner unclear?"

"No," Fudge lowly answered. He knew that all was lost, at least until he reached the Ministry.

"As further incentive for your compliance, I have here a list of your vaults and residences and all your mistresses and their residences. I also have here a will that bequeaths all you own to me. If you attempt to come after me, I will find you, and I will kill you. Furthermore, I shall give you one fortnight to get every marked person's soul. Let it not be said that I am inconsiderate. Thereafter, for every delay, I will kill one Death Eater spawn irrespective of his or her age. The same goes for if you attempt to save their marked guardians or parents with substituted or imperiused people under the Polyjuice or any sort of impersonation, or if you help them escape by prior information. No student of Hogwarts shall return before the eighth of July. They are my...insurance, shall we say. They are my hostages. I will start alphabetically. And I will not stop or consider. Also, your head will look like a wonderful monument on my fireplace if you refuse. Once you are done, you will resign."

Fudge could only gulp and nod.

"Go on then, chop-chop," Harry urged pleasantly through gritted teeth. "Don't forget that I am perfectly willing to murder the entire Ministry to get what I want. I have more resources than you would care to imagine."

Sirius then proceeded to heal Fudge, silently supporting Harry. He had it well in hand. He would never admit that he was a bit scared as well. Cornelius the One-handed, as he would thenceforth be known, would be considered the Traitor of Britain, a title that Harry himself gave the man. He was no use once he had done what he had been ordered to do, after all.

Once he left, Harry's posture slightly slumped. Sirius was on hand to hold him up. Dumbledore couldn't help but express his disappointment, which was now tinged with fear as he had lost the Elder Wand to this new dark lord. "Why Harry?"

"As I said, I received advice from the source I was uncomfortable with. But now I have learnt it. There is no way I can defeat Voldemort, for he has to be, without becoming the Dark Lord's Equal. And for that I have to realise that there is no good and bad, not truly. There is only power and those worthy enough to seek it and to wield it."

"So you have become Voldemort? You have lost mercy for children?" Dumbledore asked, as true to the intent of everything, Sirius conjured shackles around him after stripping him of all his magical and non-magical effects. "And what gave you the right to demand execution?"

"I learnt more about the quality of mercy, Dumbledore. No man has the right to decide whether another person is worthy of mercy and second chances or not. I just decided to err on the side of caution."

###

A way to see if the idea of the Dark Lord's equal could be reinterpreted. Not quite where I wanted it to go, but I am just slaking my blood-lust on a Word sheet. I have always wondered why only people like Amelia Bones and Scrimgeour were killed, but Fudge was never assassinated. Forget the fact that Harry knows too much.


End file.
